Taming of the Prostitute
by ClintonBush43Obama
Summary: AU. No Hunger Games. Katniss is a prostitute in the Capitol. A chance meeting with a handsome baker shows her there is more to life and dignity than selling yourself. Will Peeta Mellark be able to save her from a life of misery? Read to find out!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Katniss Everdeen wandered blindly down the Capitol streets, crying her eyes out. Her mascara was running, but she didn't care. Men catcalled her every few blocks, but she didn't notice.

That latest client had been the worst in all her years of prostitution. Beating her with a whip, slamming his cock into her until it felt like her vagina was about to rip in half. She sobbed at the memory. The asshole would probably still be displeased, and Cray, her pimp, wouldn't pay her. Oh, why did she have to get involved in this sick business, the so-called 'world's oldest profession,' in the first place? Men were all the same. They just took and took and took. She would never be free.

She was so exhausted that she did not even mind collapsing in the middle of the sidewalk before everything went black.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The first thing Katniss noticed when she began to stir was that she was lying on something very soft. Her eyes opened, and she wondered if she was dead and in heaven.

She was lying on fluffy white sheets in a beautiful bed. When she shifted to look around, she saw that she was in a room with a slanted ceiling. An armchair was by her bed on one side. On the other was a makeshift drug administration cart seen in doctor's offices – only this one looked primitive, made partially out of bent coat hangers. An IV ran into her right arm. A single bedside lamp completed the look.

This definitely was not the whorehouse. The amenities were never this nice. And she did not recognize the man before her. He was at the drug administration cart, checking the bag containing the fluids now being doled into her. He pulled a pistol out of his jacket before filling it with bullets and cocking it shut.

Katniss stared at the man, whose back was to her. Blond hair, muscular – she could tell by his rippling shoulder blades. And she could not help but admire that he had one nice arse…..

The man turned around and she jumped, afraid he had caught her staring. He had an even more handsome face. Eyebrows as spun-gold as his hair, and the deepest, most beautiful blue eyes. A kind smile as he now observed her.

"Good! You're awake! I was beginning to wonder if the medicine was doing the job!" The man circled the bed and sat in the armchair beside her. Katniss regarded him.

"Where….. where am I?" she asked slowly.

"Mellark's Bakery. This is the loft right here – one of the upstairs rooms where I live. The shop is down below. I found you sprawled on the sidewalk while coming back from a delivery." He held out his hand. "Peeta Mellark."

Katniss weakly took his hand and shook it. "I'm Katniss. Katniss Everdeen." She studied him. "So…. you're the baker? I know all the big Capitol functions buy your bread. I've…. seen the trucks go by."

Peeta smiled. "It's a fun profession, I must admit."

"Then…. how did you make all of this?" Katniss gestured at the makeshift drug cart.

For a moment, Peeta's blue eyes darkened. "Capitol Special Ops. I was with them for a few years in my early twenties before being honorably discharged. Learned a few useful tricks."

Katniss couldn't help but grin at that. "Well, Peeta, I must say – baking, arts and crafts. You're a man of many talents."

Peeta laughed. "And what are your talents, sweetheart?"

Katniss bristled at him calling her ' _sweetheart_ ' but tried not to let it show. Ashamed, she glanced away. Apparently silence spoke louder than words.

"I understand. Guessed as much, too, from how you looked. There's nothing to explain. And you are not to blame for anything." He rose and dared to push back the hair on Katniss's forehead. "Try to get some rest. You can stay here as long as you like."

Katniss felt her eyes fill with tears at this man's kindness. "Thank you," she got out in a whisper.

Peeta nodded and left, Katniss falling into a peaceful sleep soon after.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Katniss awoke the next morning to find that the IV was out of her arm. She was dressed in fresh clothes and clean. No signs of the abuse her last client had given her.

All at once, a new aroma came across her nostrils. Ah. Freshly baked bread. She slowly proceed out into the hallway and down a spiral staircase.

The bakery was beautiful. Quaint little tables up against windows staring out into the street. A counter with mirrors showing the different delicacies out on display. A door behind the counter led to what she surmised was a kitchen. And lining the rest of that back wall was small ovens – where Peeta was now fresh at work. He glanced up and smiled.

"You have a knack for watching me when I think no one is looking," he laughed, closing an oven door and wiping his hands on a tea cloth.

Katniss smiled shyly at his humor and headed for a seat at the window. Peeta ran around and pulled the chair out for her. She gave him another smile of thanks.

"Feel free to take in the scenery. I'll be opening up the shop soon," Peeta told her. He circled the counter. "Can I get you anything?"

Katniss shook her head. "You've done more than enough. Thank you."

Peeta smiled. Just then, a bell tinkled above the front door, signaling a customer. A little girl bounced right up to counter, her parents trying to keep up.

"Well, if it isn't my favorite regular!" Peeta laughed. "What can I get for you, Molly?"

Molly could not have been more than six as she shyly rocked back and forth. Smiling shyly, she asked, "Can I please have a quoi…croiss….." She couldn't pronounce it.

"A croissant?" Peeta helped her so gently that she nodded. He got one of the delicious pastries prepared, then walked right around the counter and knelt at her feet, presenting the bag with a bow. "Enjoy your treat, my lady." Molly giggled and accepted it with a thanks. Peeta turned to the parents. "Anything for you, Mr. and Mrs. Tucker….?"

Katniss, meanwhile, pretended to look at a menu, hiding her smile. _Peeta is so sweet with children_ , she thought. _He would be an excellent father….._ OK, where had that come from? She shook her head to clear the cobwebs. Just then, she saw Molly right at her table, staring at her.

"Hi," Katniss said quietly. She felt a little awkward.

"You look really pretty, ma'am," Molly said shyly.

Katniss could not help a beaming smile come over her face. "Thank you, sweetheart!", ignoring the fact that Peeta had called her that the night before.

"Molly!" the girl's mother called. Molly scampered away. "Bye bye, Mr. Baker Man!" she called as the Tuckers left.

As soon as the bell's tinkle faded, Katniss caught Peeta's eye, amused. "Any other talents you want to share with me, _Mr. Baker Man_?" She smirked.

Peeta blinked, then gave a chuckle. "What?"

"I now have to add 'Great with kids' to your resume. Is there anything you can't do?"

Peeta threw back his head and laughed. "Oh, there's lots. Believe me."

"You're going to have to start proving it," Katniss wittily bantered back. Peeta threw a rag cloth at her.

Katniss had to admit it, but this was the safest she had felt in a long time. Even if it was just a timeout from her real life…


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Days turned into weeks. Katniss stayed with Peeta at the bakery. Slowly but surely, she was nursed back to health. And slowly but surely, she became a regular at the eatery.

Katniss started by taking orders for Peeta and his employees. She found waitressing to be fun, and she got better at it overtime. _Better to take somebody's order than take their virginity…._ she thought. Though it did take a bit before she would accept money from Peeta as a salary. She still had some semblance of dignity, but it also took her time to get used to coins as a form of payment. For years, she had equated payment with sex – rarely had her clients ever given her money, and when they had, it had been afterwards as a sort of tip. Besides, any of these trinkets had immediately gone right back to Cray.

As weeks turned into a month, then two, Katniss found herself getting farther and farther away from her troubles. And closer and closer to Peeta. One Sunday, when the shop was closed, Peeta even got her down into the kitchen, declaring she was ready to graduate from waitressing to baking.

"We'll start with dough," Peeta began. "Now, kneading dough may seem like the easiest task in the bakery. Here's the truth: it's not. There's a very specific technique you have to use, a very precise motion of the hands."

He guided Katniss over to the counter, where a mound of dough was waiting. Katniss carefully immersed her hands into the dough. It felt gooey, but she would get used to it. She tried not to think about how the texture reminded her of giving someone a hand job. She felt Peeta behind her.

"May I?" She nodded, and his hands covered hers. Immediately, Katniss felt a tingle shoot up her arm at his touch.

"I'm going to walk you through it." Peeta's voice tickled her ear, and she felt blood shoot down right to her core….. no, focus.

Peeta slowly guided her hands through the dough, teaching her the proper method. Katniss found herself getting lulled by the way his hands moved over her own, and imagined how those same hands might go all over her body. She resisted the urge to lean back into his muscular frame….

"Katniss?"

She opened her eyes. Peeta was staring at her with an amused smile. "Were you sleeping? I just asked if you wanted to try the flattening trick I showed you."

Katniss swallowed and nodded. She raised the dough up and threw it down as hard as she could. White powder exploded everywhere and, with a shriek, she dodged to avoid it. Peeta wasn't so lucky. Katniss looked back and began to laugh. The baker's face was covered so white with powder, he looked like a ghost. Peeta blinked before grinning.

"I suppose you think this is funny? Take this!" He flung powder at her, covering Katniss's one arm. Katniss squealed with laughter and tried to get away. "Or this! Or this!" Peeta chased her around the kitchen before finally grabbing her around the waist from behind and spinning her around. Both suddenly slipped and crashed against the counter.

Katniss suddenly felt very hot. She was braced between the counter and Peeta, her hands on his chest, his on her waist. They stared into each other's eyes.

"Katniss…." Peeta gulped. "I…."

Katniss lifted a finger to gently brush the powder off his lips. With that finger at his chin, she closed the gap between them and kissed Peeta softly. Her eyes closed instantly. He tasted like flour…..

Peeta stiffened at first, then relaxed into the kiss. His hands dug into her hips possessively. Katniss let out a moan into his mouth.

Instinct took over. Katniss's hand wandered down to Peeta's crotch and she touched him there, feeling him up. All at once, Peeta jerked out of the kiss.

"No!"

Katniss was breathless, her lips puffy and kissed. She could not help but feel hurt at his rejection. "Why? Isn't that what you want? All men want that."

"I'm not all men, Katniss." Peeta's voice softened. "You don't have to do that, even if you feel you owe me."

"I do owe you! You've been so kind to me!" Katniss protested. "I know what boys want. It's the only way I know how to pay someone back."

"You don't have to pay me back like that, Katniss! I don't want that." Peeta took her hands insistently. "Never feel like you have to sell yourself to please me. I don't want that."

For some reason, Katniss took this the wrong way. She threw his hands away. "Like hell you don't," she snarled. Then, she turned heel and marched back up to her room, Peeta staring heartbroken after her.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Days passed without them speaking. Katniss didn't even know why she stayed. _Because being with Peeta is better than being back with Cray…._ a voice insisted in her mind. She brushed it off.

One Friday afternoon, Katniss was just closing up shop behind the counter. Peeta was back in the kitchen cleaning; all the other employees had gone home for the day. The bell tinkled, signaling a customer.

"Sorry, we're closed, please come back….." Katniss looked up from wiping the counter and her face drained of color.

Cray was standing in the doorway, smiling evilly. "I knew I'd find you, sweetheart. Thought you could get away from me, did you? Trade in your appointments for orders?" He chuckled and then his face hardened. "All right, time out's over! You're coming back with me!" He stalked around the counter, but Katniss flinched away.

"No! I don't want to go back to that life! I _won't_ go back! I've given it up!"

"You do what I tell you, you bitch!" Cray snarled.

"Katniss?"

Katniss froze, wishing this nightmare would end, before glancing over Cray's shoulder. Peeta was staring at them, specifically Cray grabbing her wrist. "What's going on here?"

Cray was frozen as well. Katniss could practically see the gears turning in his walnut-sized brain, trying to figure out how to talk his way out of this. She smiled at Peeta gratefully, but her fearful eyes communicated all that Peeta needed to know. He mouthed back to her, 'It's OK.' His presence alone gave her the comfort and strength to yank her hand away from Cray.

"We're through, Cray. For good!"

She tried to slip around to Peeta, but a stunned and enraged Cray blocked her. "And where will you go? Where? To _him_?" He pointed back at Peeta. "To be the wife of some bread rat?"

Katniss twisted away. "I'd rather be his wife than your whore," she vowed bravely. She tried to bypass Cray again, but he grabbed her sides to block her. "No! I said no!" Cray snarled.

There was the cock of a gun and then the angriest voice Katniss had ever heard from Peeta. "You should let her go. It's time for you to leave." Peeta's face was hardened in forceful rage.

There was a silence. Suddenly, Cray spun around and lunged for Peeta. The pimp got his hands on the gun but Peeta would not let go. Katniss watched fearfully, one hand to her mouth, as both men took their fight out from behind the counter, wrestling over the weapon. Peeta stumbled backward into a table, taking Cray with him. The gun flew out of his hands and skittered across the floor. Cray was back on his feet first, stalking toward Peeta. He seized a chair and raised it over his head. Peeta scrambled out of his daze, reaching for the gun.

"CRAY! DON'T!"

POP! POP! Katniss heard two loud sounds like a firecracker. Cray had frozen where he was, the chair still raised over his head. Then, almost in slow motion, he fell backward, the chair tumbling off and away behind him with a clatter. He was dead before he hit the floor.

The only sound now was Peeta's heavy breathing as he got to his feet, gun in hand. His eyes met Katniss's, who was staring at him in stunned horror. Peeta smiled wearily.

"Knew that Special Ops training would come in handy."

Katniss's expression turned to one of adoration. Tearfully, she laughed and then threw her arms around him, sobbing into the crook of his neck.

"Oh, thank you! Thank you! Oh God!" An amazing thought struck her. "Oh my god, I'm free! I can't believe it. I'm free!"

Peeta chuckled, rubbing circles along her back. "Yes, you are, sweetheart."

Another round of hysterical crying from Katniss and she sobbed back into Peeta's neck, her head leaning on his shoulder. Soon, her cries turned to sniffles. She found herself smiling in contentment as she leaned into Peeta's muscular frame. They held each other that way for a long moment.

"Katniss?"

"Hmmm?" she purred.

"Did….. did you mean what you told that little piss-ant? About rather being my wife than being his….." He couldn't bring himself to say the word, which Katniss thought was so gentlemanly. She took a deep breath and looked up into his eyes.

"Yes," she confessed with courage.

Peeta cleared his throat. He did that when he was nervous. "Well then," he responded. "In that case, I must ask you…. Katniss Everdeen, will you marry me?"

Katniss blinked once in utter astonishment and then smiled. "Of course," she murmured. She didn't mind as Peeta took her face in his hands and she allowed him to kiss her on the mouth. Katniss let her hands sink themselves into Peeta's neck and hair. She parted her lips for him so their tongues could dance around each other, deepening the kiss. Peeta's hands now encircled her waist. For a moment, he even gently groped her bum before quickly moving his hands back up, then abruptly stepping out of the kiss. Katniss whined like a small child and plaintively reached for him.

"No, Katniss, we musn't."

"Why not, silly?" she giggled. "We're engaged." She reached up to kiss him but he squirmed away.

"I know you want me, and believe me when I tell you I want you _just as much_." The last came out as a husky growl, and Katniss nearly swooned, especially when she felt her panties become flooded with dampness. "But, you deserve to have a night of lovemaking better than any other. I want desperately to make sweet love to you, but I want to wait until we are husband and wife. Deal?"

Katniss took his hand and squeezed it. He was so sweet, and she knew in that moment that she would be lucky to be married to him, to one day call him her husband. "Deal."

As Katniss and Peeta embraced and kissed, neither the baker nor the former prostitute even bothered to remove Cray's body.


	6. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

The happiness did not come immediately. Peeta was charged with second-degree murder for the shooting of Cray, but was acquitted on all charges thanks to critical evidence from the bakery's surveillance footage.

Katniss then helped the police bust the prostitution ring Cray had commanded and all her surrogate sisters in the whorehouse were freed.

Finally, Peeta Mellark and Katniss Everdeen were married in a beautiful church wedding. Upon being presented as husband and wife, they walked back up the aisle happily, Katniss suddenly pulling Peeta to her and kissing him long and slow, to cheers and wolf-whistles.

* * *

That night, Katniss and Peeta heatedly made out in the loft above the bakery, now their new bedroom.

"Do…. do you want to…. do it now?" Peeta panted, his hands touching his wife everywhere.

"Hmmmmm….." Katniss moaned into his kiss. "Yessss…."

They tugged at each other's clothes, ripping them off. Katniss then boldly hitched her leg to Peeta's waist. Pushing him back, she almost shoved him on to the bed and quickly was astride him. She kissed him softly on the lips, before peppering kisses along his face towards his ear so she could whisper, "I'll show you a hell of time, my love."

Peeta grinned. "You're the expert," he chuckled with a wink. Katniss blushed. They did not often talk about her past, and when it did come up, Peeta always made her feel as though she was a hero for having gone through it. She kissed him passionately, before pulling Peeta's member towards her, guiding it into her wet and ready folds.

Instantly, she threw back her head and groaned. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head. He was so big! Just the way she had hoped her would be. Rolling her hips, she undulated her body in a wave like motion, rippling from her round and bare ass and up her naked back. She rode him like this, taking sheer pleasure and triumph over how her actions were affecting her new husband, pleasing him, making him want _more_ of _her_. Peeta, meanwhile, quickly learned how to thrust into her, sliding his penis in and out, in and out. It was hard for him to concentrate, though, with the blood and pleasure rushing down to his cock. Beads of sweat appeared on his brow and his breathing became ragged. Katniss knew he was close.

"Katniss….. I'm….I'm gonna….."

Katniss smiled impishly. "Say it," she whispered soothingly, but as a command. "Say it, darling."

"CUM!" Peeta screamed as he exploded inside of her. As soon as every last drop of his seed had been throbbed out, he relaxed. Once he was rested, the baker worked to get his bride off. He could tell by the sexy moans, cries and whimpers emanating from his wife above him that he was doing something right.

"Uhhh… huhhhh…. Hmmmm…. Oh, Peeeetaaaaaaa…" she crooned. "I'm gonna, I'm gonna… ooooooohhhhhh…."

Peeta pumped faster. "Come for me, love," he growled. "I want you to forget all the other orgasms you've had, because this will beat them all."

"YESSSSS!" Katniss threw her head back with an airy scream as she climaxed, her juices flowing up Peeta's shaft and lubricating it. With one last kiss, Katniss rolled off her husband and curled into his side. Together forever, they fell asleep.

* * *

Katniss watched from her favorite seat by the window as Peeta taught their young son how to knead dough behind the counter. Her oldest child was taking to it much better than she did. _Just like his Daddy….._ Katniss thought with a smile.

It was Sunday, and the bakery was closed – a beautiful summer's day. Perfect day to just relax and enjoy being with her family.

Just then, her and Peeta's baby girl, whom she had just rocked to sleep after nursing, began to cry.

"Oh, sssshhhhh, sssshhhhh…." Katniss soothed her baby, rocking it and smiling down at the little bundle in her arms. "Did you have a nightmare?" she cooed.

The baby, of course, was still too young to answer, but Katniss talked to her anyway. "I have nightmares, too," Katniss admitted, only briefly dwelling on the prostitution days of her youth. "Someday I'll explain them to you. Why they came….. why they won't ever go away. But I'll tell you how I survive it: I make a list in my head, of all the good things I've seen someone do. Every little thing I can remember. It's like a game. It gets a little tedious after all these years but… there are much worse games to play."


End file.
